Shizuka Hoshijiro
Shizuka Hoshijiro (星白 閑 Hoshijiro Shizuka) is a fellow Guardian Pilot who Nagate meets early on in the story, becoming one of his earliest friends along with Izana. Appearance Like most of the other trainees, Hoshijiro wears the same female uniform as the rest and has black hair stretching to just above her shoulders. Personality Hoshijiro is shown to be rather kind to her companions, even to Nagate who was shunned by most of the other trainees. It is also shown that among the other female trainees, she appears to be rather mature, as she doesn't like seeing her friends fighting amongst themselves and would try to calm them down. Like Nagate however, it appears she is seems to be oblivious to the feelings of others when it comes to love, unlike her 'rivals' she doesn't appear to be aware that they like Nagate as well. Story Hoshijiro was a pilot trainee when she first encountered Tanikaze Nagate. As a fellow trainee, she showed compassion when many others despised or made fun of Nagate. Most other trainees made jokes or teased Nagate about his smell, while Hoshijiro remarked, "... You don't smell," even after Nagate had thrown up in the nurse's office. After Nagate willingly disregards orders to chase after her life pod, her attitude begins to change. No longer just a fellow trainee, Nagate becomes a possible love interest for Hoshijiro. When pulled between Izana, Yuhata, and Hoshijiro, Nagate ends up with Hoshijiro in the deep-sea submersible. They share a tender moment before an alert pulls both back to reality - and the Gauna. Hoshijiro willingly sacrifices herself for Nagate after the Gauna wraps Nagate and Tsugumori in its placental tentacles. Fighting to save Nagate, her Guardian is ripped apart, and her body is pulled into the maw of the Gauna. Abilities As a Guardian Pilot, not much is seen in terms of her own prowess, but it is suggested that she is among the best in her trainee batch, as she was selected along with Kunato, and Nagate to retrieve that lost Kabizashi spear. It was also shown in the VR Simulator scoreboards, she is ranked overall 2nd, right under Kunato. It is also believed that she is fully aware of all the Guardian's typical strategies when encountering a Gauna, as Benisuzume is capable of fighting the other Guardian's effectively and being able to dodge their attacks almost seamlessly, since the Gauna's are capable of absorbing whomever they prey on, it is believed that her knowledge in fighting is what made Benisuzume a dangerous adversary. Legacy After sacrificing herself to save Nagate, she is reincarnated multiple times as Benisuzume, a Gauna that retains her form when fighting, and is considered among the most dangerous of Benisuzume types, oddly enough, this doesn't happen when any other pilot is consumed by the Gauna. Though her death itself proved to be a lasting trauma on Nagate. Her repeated reincarnation is considered part of the Gauna's psychological warfare on the humans, as its mere appearance sometimes forces some pilots like Nagate to hesitate when fighting, though eventually this became no longer a problem as Nagate fixes his resolve on the fact that Benisuzume is not Hoshijiro. It is implied that her memories and personalities still live on through the reincarnates, but are buried deep down, and only resurface for a moment when Benisuzume is nearly defeated. While currently defeated, it is unknown if Benisuzume will reappear once more. However it is also implied that Chimeras that are born from 'Placenta Hoshijiro' retain some of Hoshijiro's personality, such as in the case of Tsumugi Shiraui and her closeness to Nagate. Links Category:Characters